Tuesday, April 30, 2013

San Angelo's Standard Times put more content behind a pay wall, following moves by the New York Times and a number of fellow E.W. Scripps newspapers. A letter from the paper's Publisher outlined the move in general terms.

Likely a number of readers came across the new policy in attempting to access content. Take Angelo State University's putting more courses online. That story sat behind the new paywall.

Nonpaying citizens accessing free content on GoSanAngelo are referred to as potential customers by the paper's Editor Tim Archuleta.

Potential customers are still able to visit gosanangelo.com for some
articles and important headlines. Items such as weather, traffic, AP
wire, public safety stories, community listings, calendars and
advertising remain available on the site without a subscription.

I'm not sure who goes to the paper's website to find ads. Surely Scripps projected the impact of this move based on their experience in other markets. However, it's called Surprising San Angelo for a reason.

Will subscribers pay a premium price for content relative to other Scripps' papers, including one 90 miles up the road?